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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Regina Caeli: How Good do you Need to Be to Sing Polyphony?

Veronica Brandt · May 16, 2020

A few weeks back Jeff posted Blog Contributors Speak About a Favorite Piece. I spoke about a four part Regina Caeli, but I had been intending to nominate a Gregorian Chant piece, Virgo Dei Genitrix. When the other contributors all brought up motets, I jumped ship and went with the piece which was uppermost in my mind.

Then just before my turn to speak, Mr Hamilton came up with a hymn. This was welcomed as providing a variety of styles for the discussion. Then, had I stuck to my original Gregorian Chant plan, this would have even more perfectly filled out an overview of sacred music. But I didn’t.

Watching pared down livestream Masses, I’m struck by how beautiful Gregorian Chant can be. In one instance a choir launched out into a polyphonic Magnificat, but stumbled a little. I’m left wondering, when Gregorian chant itself can sound so sublime when sung well, how good do you need to be to achieve an equivalent level with polyphony?

There is a great sense of accomplishment with polyphony, but sometimes we are happy to ride rough-shod over the piece and come out at the other side at approximately the same time and call it a success. Maybe the time could be better spent refining a monophonic piece and working more on achieving a good tone and blending. These are things I must learn more about.


Back in March, when all my choir plans evaporated, then I was sad. After a while I hit upon the idea to sing Vittoria’s Popule Meus for Good Friday with my family. We managed the first few bars1, but there wasn’t much enthusiasm for it. When Easter came around, some of my kids wanted to sing the fancy Regina Caeli we had sung at a homeschool retreat some years ago. It’s much more upbeat and, with some bribery, we did bring it together.

The first singer in the video is my youngest daughter, who has just recently begun singing the Regina Caeli all by herself. Maybe I should have captured the older group on video too, but it was complicated enough to get this far. Maybe, with a whole lot more practice, we’ll get the polyphonic piece ready to sing for Pentecost. In the meantime, we’ll keep singing at home.


Coming back to the original question – you don’t need to be very good to start singing polyphony. To sing at Mass though, you need more than just being able to finish together. Recording yourself and playing it back is very enlightening. That said, the average person in the pew is more forgiving than the ears of the choir director.

Once you get to that level of sounding good in rehearsals, then maybe it’s time to try singing in public. But there’s no shame in singing Gregorian chant to the best of your ability.


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:
1   The first few bars are particularly simple – repeated long notes. Here’s an amazing recording combining the chant and Vittoria’s polyphony.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Gregorian Chant Last Updated: May 16, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    2-Voice Arr. • “Creator of the Starry Height”
    Do you direct a choir consisting of women or children only? (Some call this a “treble” choir.) Download a two-voice arrangement of Creator of the Starry Height set to the tune of IOANNES by clicking here and then scrolling to the bottom. In our times, this hymn is normally used during ADVENT, and the Latin title is: Cónditor alme síderum. It’s important to say “cónditor”—placing the accent on the antepenult—because ‘condítor’ in Latin means “one who embalms the dead.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Equal Voices” Choir Pieces
    My colleague, CORRINNE MAY, has posted some delightful compositions for equal voices: that is, choirs consisting of all men or all women. Included there are settings of the “Ave Maria” and “Tantum Ergo.” They strike me as relatively simple and not excessively lengthy. (In other words, within reach of volunteer singers.) Even better, all the scores have been made available as instant PDF downloads, completely free of charge. Bravo!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In my capacity as the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, I continue to remind all that the celebration toward the East (versus orientem) is authorized by the rubrics of the missal, which specify the moments when the celebrant must turn toward the people. A particular authorization is, therefore, not needed to celebrate Mass facing the Lord.”

— ‘Robert Cardinal Sarah, 23 May 2016’

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